was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

in the two-vessel of

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

s in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. The ship was named after Mount Furutaka, located on

Etajima, Hiroshima is a city (formerly a town) located on the island of Etajima in Hiroshima Bay in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Etajima was established on November 1, 2004, from the merger of the town of Etajima (from Aki Distr ...

immediately behind the

Imperial Japanese Navy Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stud ...

. She was commissioned in 1926 and was sunk 12 October 1942 by and USS ''Duncan'' at the

Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Unit ...

Design

''Furutaka'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

'' Kako'' were the first generation of high speed heavy cruisers in the Japanese navy, intended to counter the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

scout cruisers. They developed the experimental design pioneered in the cruiser . Although there were attempts to minimize weight and protection was only designed to be proof against 6 inch shells, the displacement was seriously overweight. The two ships were "scout cruisers", designed with aircraft facilities. The lack of

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

s, however, necessitated launches from water until a major refit in 1932/3.

Service history

Inter-war period

''Furutaka'' was initially assigned to Cruiser Division 5 where she remained until reduced to reserve in December 1931. ''Furutaka'' underwent a series of significant refits in the 1930s. She was reconstructed and modernized at

Kure Naval Base was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyū ...

in 1932-33, receiving anti-aircraft guns upgraded to 12 cm (4.7 inch), aircraft

and an E4N2 floatplane. She was recommissioned into Cruiser Division 6. Further extensive work started in April 1937. The six single-mount 20 cm (7.9 inch) guns were replaced by three dual mount and re-bored 20.3 cm (8 inch) guns installed in improved mountings (allowing 55° elevation) with two turrets forward and one aft, fire control changed, light anti aircraft weapons augmented and eight new 610 mm (24 inch) Type 93 torpedo tubes were installed. Facilities were upgraded for two E7K2 floatplanes. New oil-fired boilers were installed and there was a general overhaul of machinery. In the light of the added top weight, an attempt was made to maintain stability by increasing the ship's

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

- not entirely successfully.

World War II

In late 1941, ''Furutaka'' was assigned to Cruiser Division 6

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Aritomo Goto Aritomo (written: 有朋 or 存知) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese general and Prime Minister of Japan {{given name Japanese masculine given names ...

in the First Fleet with the cruisers , ''Kako'' and . At the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, the division was engaged in support for the invasion of Guam. After the failed first invasion of Wake Cruiser Division 6 was assigned to the larger second invasion force, and after the fall of Wake, returned to its forward base in Truk,

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

. From 18 January 1942, Cruiser Division 6 was assigned to support Japanese troop landings at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

and

Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...

, New Ireland and in patrols around the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

in unsuccessful pursuit of the American fleet. In March–April, Cruiser Division 6 provided support to Cruiser Division 18 in covering the landings of Japanese troops in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

at Buka, Shortland,

Kieta Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is kno ...

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

and

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

from a forward base at Rabaul. While at Shortland on 6 May 1942, ''Furutaka'' was attacked by four

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

es, but was not damaged.

Battle of the Coral Sea

At the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

, Cruiser Division 6 departed Shortland and effected a rendezvous at sea with light

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. At 11:00 on 7 May 1942, north of Tugali Island, ''Shoho'' was attacked and sunk by 93

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s and

Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any na ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

s from and . Furutaka1940

The following day, 46 SBDs, 21 TBDs and 15

Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...

s from ''Yorktown'' and ''Lexington'' damaged the aircraft carrier severely above the waterline and forced her to return to Japan for extensive repairs. ''Furutaka'' and ''Kinugasa'', undamaged in the battle, escorted ''Shōkaku'' back to Truk. ''Furutaka'' returned to

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...

on 5 June for repairs, and returned to Truk on 7 July. In a major reorganization of the Japanese navy on 14 July, ''Furutaka'' was assigned to the newly created Eighth Fleet under Vice Admiral

Gunichi Mikawa was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that won a spectacular IJN victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ir ...

and was assigned to patrols around the Solomon Islands, New Britain and New Ireland.

Battle of Savo Island

In the

Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a naval battle of the Solomon Islands ca ...

on 9 August 1942, Cruiser Division 6, the heavy cruiser , light cruisers and and destroyer engaged the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces in a night gun and torpedo action. At about 23:00, ''Chōkai'', ''Furutaka'' and ''Kako'' all launched their reconnaissance

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

s. The circling floatplanes dropped flares illuminating the targets and all the Japanese ships opened fire. The heavy cruisers , and were sunk and was scuttled. Heavy cruiser was damaged as were the destroyers and . On the Japanese side, ''Chōkai'' was hit three times, ''Kinugasa'' twice, ''Aoba'' once and ''Furutaka'' was not damaged and returned to Kavieng on 10 August. During the

Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific ca ...

in late August, Cruiser Division 6 and ''Chōkai'' departed Shortland to provide distant cover for the

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

reinforcement convoys. That same day, a

Consolidated PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...

of VP23's "Black Cats" unsuccessfully attacked ''Furutaka'' in daylight. ''Furutaka'' shuttled between Kieta and Rabaul as needed to refuel and resupply through mid-September. The submarine attacked ''Furutaka'' south of New Ireland on 12 September, but did no damage.

Battle of Cape Esperance

So alerted, the American heavy cruisers and , and light cruisers and —all equipped with radar—and five destroyers steamed around the end of Guadalcanal to block the entrance to Savo Sound. At 22:35, ''Helena''s radar spotted the Japanese fleet, and the Americans successfully crossed the Japanese "T". Both fleets opened fire, but Admiral Goto, thinking that he was under

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while eng ...

, ordered a 180-degree turn that exposed each of his ships to the American broadsides. ''Aoba'' was damaged heavily, and Admiral Goto was mortally wounded on her bridge. With ''Aoba'' crippled, Captain Araki of ''Furutaka'' turned his ship out of the

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

to engage ''Salt Lake City''. Destroyer launched two torpedoes toward ''Furutaka'' that either missed or failed to detonate. ''Duncan'' continued firing at ''Furutaka'' until she was put out of action by numerous shell hits. At 23:54, ''Furutaka'' was hit by a torpedo that flooded her forward engine room. During the battle, about 90 shells hit ''Furutaka'' and some ignited her Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes, starting fires. At 02:28 on 12 October, ''Furutaka'' sank stern first at . Captain Araki and 514 survivors were rescued by the destroyers , and . Thirty-three crewmen were killed and 110 were later counted as missing. The Americans took 115 of ''Furutaka''s crew as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, including her Operations Officer, LtCdr. Shotaro Matsui. Most of these surviving crew were imprisoned at the

Featherston prisoner of war camp Featherston prisoner of war camp was a camp for captured Japanese soldiers during World War II at Featherston, New Zealand, notorious for a 1943 incident in which 48 Japanese and one New Zealander were killed. The camp had been established during ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. ''Furutaka'' was removed from

navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 10 November 1942.

Wreck

The wreck of ''Furutaka'' was discovered on 25 February 2019 by the research vessel, in of water. The ship rests in two pieces with the bow broken off and lying on its port side and the rest of the ship sitting upright.

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

* *Tabular record
CombinedFleet.com: ''Furutaka'' history
(Retrieved 4 April 2016.) *Gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furutaka Furutaka-class cruisers Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1925 ships World War II cruisers of Japan Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound Maritime incidents in October 1942 Shipwreck discoveries by Paul Allen 2019 archaeological discoveries